Texas State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice

2. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- Yes

3. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- Abortion should be rare, safe, and legal. Regulations attempting to eliminate access to safe abortion merely prevent poor women from having this choice; they will never stop abortions. Instead they will drive women to unlicensed and unsafe providers, as was the case before Roe v. Wade. If we really want to stop abortion, we need to have comprehensive sex education in schools, provide free or reduced cost contraception, implement programs that make clear the responsibilities of parenthood, and provide resources for families when a child is born. Closing women's health clinics discriminates against poor and rural women.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Do you support the creation of a state income tax in Texas?
- No Answer

1. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions?
- No

2. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees?
- No

3. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- I didn't answer the question on the state income tax because I believe it is not a realistic possibility at this time. But the fact is that almost every other kind of tax is regressive. I believe the economy is driven from the bottom up, not the top down, so if we can keep more money in the hands of people who spend it on day-to-day expenses, it helps the economy. Giving more money to the wealthiest 1% has been proven to increase the wealth divide and results in less opportunity for everyone else.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates?
- Yes

2. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes

3. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- Yes

4. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- We are nearly last among voter turnout, so it is clear we are not doing enough to encourage voting, and in fact are using many voter suppression tactics. The voter ID law was one such tactic, based on the false narrative that we have significant voter fraud - we do not. I support online voter registration and other mechanisms to increase voter participation. Having an independent commission for redistricting is one way we can increase the power of each person's vote, and allow voters to choose their representatives, instead of letting representatives choose their voters.

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- No

2. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Yes

3. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- No

4. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- No

5. Other or expanded principles
- I will not support capital punishment until we reform our criminal justice system. We are convicting too many innocent people, leaving the actual perpetrators to live among us. In addition, our resources would be better spent on investigating serious crimes rather than on prosecuting otherwise innocent people for possession of marijuana. The way we handle minors will affect the rest of their lives and we need to make sure we are doing everything we can to steer them to a productive life, not tossing them in prison as if they were adults. Let the Feds handle immigration enforcement.

Economic

1. Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

2. Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

3. Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector?
- No

4. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- No

6. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Texas?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- The state should use incentives carefully and with public interest in mind. Regulations are often implemented for good reasons but end up producing unintended consequences. So I would look carefully at those before deciding to keep or eliminate a regulation. Imposing a test on welfare applicants is not a good use of our resources, and studies have shown that there is not a worthwhile benefit. Minimum wage increases have been shown to increase economic growth in areas leading the way, such as Seattle. Even $15 per hour is not a living wage, and $7.25 certainly is not.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in Texas?
- No Answer

2. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- No

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Texas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No Answer

4. Do you support increasing funding for the state education budget?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- I believe high-quality public education is the foundation for a healthy economy and a well functioning democracy. I believe public funds should be allocated to public education. We must determine the goals for our education system, and then fund it accordingly. There is not much that is more important for our future than developing workers who know how to learn and how to think so they can adapt to rapidly changing technologies. While accountability is important, we must work with educators to determine the best way to evaluate teachers, students, and school districts.

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes

2. Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

3. Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes

2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- Yes

3. Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom?
- No

4. Should a license be required for gun ownership?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- As a firearms owner, I completely support the Second Amendment. I also support common-sense, bi-partisan gun safety legislation that includes background checks on all gun sales, improvement of record sharing across states, and implementing state level protections for domestic violence victims.

Health

1. Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse?
- Yes

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Texas's health care programs?
- Yes

3. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- Yes

4. Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
- Yes

5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- No Answer

6. Do you support increasing funding for state medical facilities and hospitals in rural areas?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- The refusal to accept Medicaid expansion has cost Texas taxpayers $10 Billion each year. In addition, because we are leaving over 2.5 million more people without access to healthcare, we are also paying an addition $5.6 Billion per year in emergency room costs for the uninsured. This is not fiscally, or morally, responsible.

Social

1. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Texas's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

2. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Texas's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

3. Do you support greater efforts by Texas state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- Yes

4. Should individuals be required to use a bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificate?
- No

5. Do you support the removal of Confederate statues from public spaces?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

In the following area, please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- Texas must get down to the hard work of revamping our public education funding system. The future of Texas depends on an educated workforce. When we address the broken school funding formula, we will also be able to provide property tax relief. Gerrymandering weakens the power of the individual vote, and I will work to implement a non-partisan, independent commission to redraw the district lines after the 2020 census. Texas' refusal to accept $100 Billion Federal dollars (over 10 years) for the expansion of Medicaid is foolish and fiscally irresponsible.